Year A
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Images
The Way, the Truth and the Life
Points to note
Although the theme sounds very straight
forward, it is not an easy concept to get across. Of the three sub-themes, the second is the
most abstract and requires a great deal of careful planning: if you do not have
time (and most likely you will not), it may be easier to run through all the
truths about Jesus that the children can expand on if they are asked by a
friend. The third is easily linked to
the story of Lazarus (cf. Lent 5) and can be used to reinforce the idea of
Easter as the season of new life. The
first is probably the most tangible of all, especially in forming the bridge to
last Sunday’s reading of the shepherd seeing his sheep home.
Although it may be
important to introduce the theme to the children, it may not help to dwell on
it for too long, particularly with the younger ones. Move on to the sub-themes as smoothly as
possible, where you are able to reduce them to more tangible concepts that the
children can grasp.
Liturgy
Acclamation
before the Gospel
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Reading
Explain
to the children that at the Last Supper, Jesus has just prophesied the
treachery of Judas and the denials of Peter.
Due to this, the apostles were disheartened and Jesus was quick to
console them.
The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St
John
All: Glory to you O Lord
(Jn 14: 1-12)
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust
in God and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I would have told you
so.
I am now going to prepare a place for you,
I shall return to take me with you;
so that you will be with me where ever I
am..
You know the way to the place I am going.
Thomas said,
“We do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus said:
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except
through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
In fact, you now know him and have seen
him.”
Philip said,
“Let us see the Father and then we shall be happy.” “Have I been teaching you all this time,
Philip,” said Jesus to him, “and you still do not know me?
To see me is to see the Father,
so how can you say, “let us see the
Father’?
do you not believe that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me?
The words do not tell you things by myself
it is the Father, who is in me, who is
telling you this..
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me;
believe it on the proof of my work, if for
no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me will perform the
same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works because
I am going to the Father.”
This is the
Gospel of the Lord
Discussion
I have taken the sub-themes separately. You may pick and mix them as it fits your
session or you may opt to concentrate on one and expand on it.
Way
Have you ever
lost your way, or know of some one who has?
How did you or that some one find the right way? Allow
them to talk of their experience.
How would you make sure that you do not lose your way? Discuss
getting prepared using things like maps (Does anyone know how to read a map?),
making sure of the way by going through it with someone who does, learning up
all the landmarks, etc. If someone
were to ask you for directions, can you give them? Discuss
how they are to give directions.
Also, when you get lost, you can ask
directions. But you make sure you ask
the right person. Similarly, we ask
other Christians for directions to heaven.
Just make sure you ask the right person.
Nowadays, we use GPS if we lose our way. If we are
in an unfamiliar place, we tend to trust the GPS completely. What is similar to
the GPS for us? The Bible. We too should
trust the Bible because it is our guide when we are on unfamiliar grounds and
we need some directions to lead our lives.
The only difference is that we can use a GPS without referring to other
people but we cannot use the Bible by ourselves.
Truth
If somebody
were to ask you to tell the truth about Jesus, what would you say? Can
you list out all the truths about Jesus? That he is the son of God, he
died for us on the cross and his death sets is free. He is in heaven and
prepares a place for us with him. You can also go through some of the key
lessons that Jesus taught us.
Do not spend
too much time on this as this is not a revision class. Just make sure that the children know what to say
if they are asked by a friend.
Life
What does a
miserable person look like? Emphasise the fact that a miserable person
does not seem to want to do anything, like someone who is tired, or sick, or
even dead. Contrast this with a lively
person, who seem to want to do everything, is energetic, is healthy, is just
alive.
What gives us life? Discuss
food and water. Discuss the intangibles
like love and happiness. What is the
source of all love and happiness? God, but discuss Jesus’ role in it all. Jesus gave us baptism, which gives us life
(cf. Lent 3). Jesus taught us to love as
he has loved us. Jesus also raised
people from the dead (cf. Lent 5). It
will help to revisit the lessons of the Sundays in Lent as this session will
help bring them all together.
Dear Catholic Crusader,
ReplyDeleteFive hundred years ago in 1517, Martin Luther made public his 95 complaints against the Roman Catholic church (hereafter, RCC). Today, we shall do likewise, with another 95 reasons. However, in this critique, we will exclusively fixate on the nucleus of all Catholic doctrine called, Transubstantiation. This teaching is built on the premise that when the priest utters “This is my body” over bread and wine that the “combustible” syllables of these four words ignite with such power and energy that, unbeknownst to our cognizant senses, the substance of bread and wine miraculously change (“by the force of the words” says the Council of Trent; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1375). They are then abruptly replaced with something else entirely; namely, the very body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ in some mysterious form which leaves only the outward appearance of bread and wine (i.e., the color, shape, size, taste, weight and texture -- or "accidental" properties, remain unchanged in objective reality). It is claimed that the supernatural power that creates this miracle on a daily basis, 24 hours a day in Masses worldwide, “is the same power of Almighty God that created the whole universe out of nothing at the beginning of time” (Mysterium Fidei, 47). The question is: does the sacred rhetoric of Jesus lead us to conclude He intended it be recited like a magician recites his incantations? (Reason 6, 74). That at the recitation of these four words, the world is obligated to be transfixed on Transubstantiation???
We should think that a rollercoaster of 95 reasons against this doctrine should at least pique your curiosity, let alone make you wonder if, like the calmness of a ferris wheel, you can so calmly refute them. The issue is far from inconsequential, since it’s claimed our very eternal destinies are at stake. So while sensitive to the fact that many are captivated by this doctrine, we are persuaded that the theological framework of the Bible conveys a persistent and vigorous opposition to this theory. God's word tells us to, "study to show yourself approved" (2 Tim 2:15) and we have indeed done just that.
The almost “romantic fidelity” to Transubstantiation springs forth from the opinion that consuming the “organic and substantial” body of Christ in the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (CCC 1129 & 1355; Trent, "Concerning Communion", ch. 1 and “Concerning Communion Under Both Kinds”, ch. 3; Canon 1; Mysterium Fidei, intro). Our burden here is to safeguard the gospel (Jude 1:3). If a religious system professing to be Christian is going to demand that something be done as a prerequisite for eternal life, it is vital to scrutinize this claim under the searchlight of Scripture and with “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Proverbs 25:2 says, "the honor of a king is to search out a matter". We shall do likewise.
Determined to test all things by Holy Writ (1 Thess 5:21; Acts 17:11, 2 Cor 10:5), the following 95 reasons have been compiled to an extravagant length to provoke you to consider the cognitive complexities of this doctrine which we conclude are biblically unbearable. We are so convinced the Bible builds a concrete case against this superstition, that we will not allow the things we have in common to suppress the more urgent need to confront the differences that divide us, such as Transubstantiation. We are told this issue directly impacts our eternal destiny, so it must not be ignored. The Lord Jesus came to divide and conquer by the truth of His word. He said, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division" (Luke 12:51-53).
For the full essay of 95 reasons, kindly e-mail me at
Eucharistangel@aol.com